Former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Monday became the first ruling party lawmaker to declare his candidacy to replace outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, whose resignation has rattled financial markets and deepened political uncertainty.
Ishiba stepped down Sunday after just months in office, taking responsibility for election losses that stripped his ruling coalition of its parliamentary majority amid growing public anger over rising living costs. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has scheduled an emergency leadership election for October 4, according to an official who spoke to Reuters.
Markets reacted sharply to the political shake-up, with the yen falling and stocks climbing on speculation that potential successors—such as fiscal dove Sanae Takaichi—could pursue more aggressive spending policies in the world’s most indebted advanced economy.
“The LDP is facing its worst crisis since its founding,” Motegi, 69, told reporters, pledging to unify the party and “tackle serious challenges at home and abroad.”
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi is also expected to enter the race, while attention remains focused on LDP veteran Takaichi and former farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi, son of ex-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. If successful, Takaichi would become Japan’s first female leader, while Koizumi, 44, would be the youngest prime minister in modern times.
Neither Takaichi nor Koizumi has formally declared, but both finished strongly in the party’s September 2024 leadership contest, placing second and third respectively. “All indications are that it will come down to them facing off against each other,” said Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer in Japanese studies at Kanda University of International Studies.
